Improvement in sewing-machines



I. M. SINGER.

Sewing Machine.

Patented Dec. 18, 1855.

fro /e N. PETERS, Phnbmbo nohflr. wnhin zon. ma

FFlCEt ISAAC M. SINGER, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5 3,966, dated December18, 1855.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Isaac M. SINGER, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Method ofSewing Seams with a Reciprocating Eye-Pointed Needle, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhich Figure 1 is-a front elevation of the machine with part of theframe removed; Fig. 2, aside elevation, and Fig. 3 a back elevation.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The object of my invention is to make a seam with an eye-pointed needlewhich shall not be so liable to be raveled and opened when the thread orthreads is or are cut as seams heretofore formed with an eye-pointedneedle; and to this end the nature of my invention consists in a mode ofoperation by which the needle is made to puncture the substance to besewed, and, after the thread has been interlaced on'the under side ofthe said substance, withdrawing the needle, and then puncturing the saidsub stance with the said needle at any required distance back of thefirst, and again interlacing on the other side of the said substance,and when the needle is drawn back again, puncturing the said substanceforward of the last place or punctures, and, afterinterlacing again,withdrawing the needle, with its thread, to repeat the series ofoperations, whether the said spacings, first in advance, and then back,and then againin advance, be effected solely by the feed-motion, orpartly by the feed-motion and partly by the vibration of the needle,which mode of operation results in forming a seam somewhat resemblingwhat is termed the back stitch in sewing with a needle which carries thethread entirely through the substance at each stitch, thereby sointerlacing the thread or threads as to produce a seam of much greaterstrength than can be produced by any other mode of operation with aneye-pointed needle, which simply carries part of the thread through thesubstance to be sewed, and then withdraws to tighten the stitch.

The accompanying drawings represent a sewing-machine like many inextensive public use, and known as the machines manufac tured by I. M.Singer & 00., with my present invention connected therewith.

The needle a is attached to the lower end of the needle-carrier b, whichis jointed at its upper end to a vertical slide, 0, working in suitableways, and receiving an up-and-down motion from a cam, d, in the usualmanner. This needle-carrier is moved, for the purpose of vibrating theneedle, in one direction by the tension of a spring, 0, (see dottedlines, Fig. 1,) and in the opposite direction by a lever, f, one end ofwhich bears against the said needle-carrier, and the other is acted uponby a cam, g, on the periphery of the drivingwheel l1, which makes'onerevolution to two of the cam that moves needle up and down. This lever fturns 011 a fulcrum-pin at i, and at j it is provided with a set-screwthat bears against the frame to regulate the extent of vibratory motionof the needle in one direction, while in the other direction it islimited in its movement by striking against a stop, 70, on the slide 0.In thisway the extent of vibration of the needle can be regulated atpleasure and with accuracy.

The substance to be sewed is placed on the table land held onto theperiphery of the feedwheel m by the usual spring pressure-pad, n, andthe feeding motion for advancing the substance to be sewed is impartedto the feedingwheel in the usual manner by a cam, 0, 011 the shuttle-camshaft 1), which acts on an arm, q, of a rockshaft,1',which said shafthas another arm, 8, connected by a link, t, with the lower end of agripping-jaw, t, and this gripping jaw grips the rim of the feed-wheelto impart the required intermittent feed motion, the eX- tent of whichis regulated by an adjusting-nut, a, tapped on the end of the link t.

The mode of iinpartingthe intermittent feed motion to the feed-wheel iswell known, and any other suitable arrangement may be substituted as anequivalent, as the means for imparting the feed mot-ion makes no part ofmy present invention.

The shuttle and the mechanism for operating it are similar to themachines in public use, before referred to, and therefore do not requireto be described.

The substance to be sewed having been placed on the feed-wheel and underthe pressure-pad, and the needle and shuttle threaded, the needlepunctures the said substance and carries its thread to the under side,where it forms a loop for the passage of the shuttle, with its thread,and the needle then rises, drawing its thread, which is looped aroundthe shuttlethread, forming what is usually termed a stitch. The feedmotion then takes place, by which the cloth or other substance to besewed is advanced, and at the same time the cam 9 acts on the lever f,by which the needlecarrier is moved until it strikes the stop-pin k,thus vibrating the needle in the direction of the feed motion, but to agreater extentsay one-half more than the distance that the cloth hasbeen moved by the feedwheeland then theneedle descends, puncturing thecloth back of the place where it was previously punctured,

by which a back stitch is formed. The shuttle,

as in the first instance, passes through the loop of the needle-threadto interlace it, and the needle then rises to complete this back stitch.The cam y then liberates the lever f, so that the tension of the spring6, acting on the needle-carrier, vibrates the needle back to itsoriginal position, and at the same time the cloth is again advanced bythe motion of the feed-wheel, and then the needle again punctures thecloth to make a third stitch, which is completed by the passage of theshuttle through the loop of the needle-thread and the withdrawing of theneedle. This is again followed by a short back stitch, and that in turnby a long forward stitch, and so 011 in succession throughout the seam.In this way it will be seen that the seam is formed by carrying theneedle-thread from the cloth first forward over the surface of thecloth, then through the cloth, to be interlaced with the shuttle-threadbelow, then out again and back over the surface, and again through thecloth, again to be interlaced with the shuttle-thread, and out and againforward on the surface, and again forward and through the cloth, to beinterlaced with the shuttle-thread.

The series of operations last above de scribed complete a threefoldstitch, in which the thread is threefold on the upper surface of thecloth for the length of the back stitch, while it is interlaced orconcatenated with the shuttle-thread on the under surface three severaltimes, making a seam which possesses more strength. and is less liableto be pulled open or unraveled than any other seam with which I amacquainted, whether made by machinery or with the hand-needle.

By regulating the length of the feed-motion and the vibration of theneedle, the length of the forward part of each stitch and the length ofthe lap of the back stitch can be regulated at pleasure, and it will beobvious that instead of imparting the required motions for my improvedmode of operation, as above described, the mode of application can bevaried by suspending the feed-motion which moves the cloth for the backstitch, so that a less extent of vibrating motion will be required forthe spacing of the back stitch than when the cloth is moved forward ateach of the operations; or instead of vibrating the needle thesame modeof operation can be applied by dispensing with the vibratory motion ofthe needle and giving to the feed-wheel alternately a long forward feedmotion for the forward part of the stitch, and then a short back motionfor the short back stitch, and then again a long forward motion for thenext forward part of the entire,stitch; but I prefer the first-describcdmode of operation, for

the reason that by simply taking off or suspending the operation of thelever which vibrates the needle-carrier the machine can be used as anordinary sewing-machine.

It will also be obvious that instead of using a shuttle or equivalenttherefor to interlace or concatenate two threads, as above specified,the mode of operation of my said invention is equally applicable to thatclass of machines in which the stitches are formed by concatenating theneedle-thread with itself below the surface of the cloth by causing theneedlethread to pass through its own loops; and therefore I wish it tobe distinctly understood that I do not limit myself either to thedescribed means for giving the required motions or to imparting therequired motions partly to the needle and partly to the cloth or othersubstance to be sewed. N or do I limit my self to the making of suchseams by means of two threads operated by a needle, in combination witha shuttle or equivalent therefor.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The mode of operation, substantially as described, for forming seams byalternately making a long forward and then a short back stitch by meansof an eye-pointed needle,which merely carries apart of its threadthrough the cloth or other substance, that it may be interlaced orconcatenated, as set forth, whether the said mode of operation beapplied by the means herein specified or any equivalent therefor, as setforth.

ISAAC M, SINGER.

Vitnesses:

YVM. H. Bisnor, ANDREW DE Liicr.

